The Euro Crisis and Its Aftermath

Jean Pisani-Ferry

Jean Pisani-Ferry teaches at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. He was formerly the Director of Bruegel, a Brussels-based economic think tank that ranks 1st out of the think tanks of Western Europe, 2nd among all think tanks outside of the U.S., and the 1st out of all International Economic Policy think tanks according to the 2012 Global Go-To Think Tanks Report.

The author distills complicated economic concepts in a way that is easily understood by economists and non-academics alike. His narrative tale of the eurozone crisis reads like an unfolding mystery, keeping the story exciting despite its exhaustive coverage over the past few years.

The euro-zone crisis has been hotly debated both within Europe and worldwide. Pisani-Ferry conmes at the problem from an accessible research and policy perspective while remaining practical.

Pisani-Ferry writes regularly for the Financial Times, Project Syndicate, the Chinese magazine Caixin, and various European publications.

The Euro Crisis and Its Aftermath

Jean Pisani-Ferry

Description

The euro's life, while only slightly more than a decade long, has been riddled by a series of challenges and crises. The disparity between the prosperous Northern countries of Germany and France and the plummeting Southern countries, including Italy and Greece, has exacerbated problems within the political and economic union of the Eurozone. The North, especially Germany, has debated where to draw the line between doing whatever is necessary to save the common currency and what they have viewed as a charity bailout of countries who flouted the rules for a decade and suffered predictable consequences. Meanwhile, Southern countries such as Italy, Spain, and Greece have grown increasingly bitter at the patronizing attitudes of their partners to the North. Amidst loud and frequent debates, solutions including routes for increased integration and punitive policies and reforms have been enacted and discarded to a limited degree of success. The struggles facing this monetary union continue to develop even today.

The Euro Crisis and Its Aftermath was written to inform readers about the history of this enduring European crisis and the alternative proposals for ending it. In four parts, Jean Pisani-Ferry explains the origins of the European currency, the build-up of imbalances and oversights that led to the crisis, the choices European policymakers have both addressed and ignored since 2010, and the evolution of the policy agenda and possible options for the future. The book is as much of an informative and analytical history as it is a prescriptive solution for a more prosperous future world economy.

Rather than putting forth and supporting a thesis, Pisani-Ferry helps readers understand the past and present of the euro crisis and form their own opinions about potential solutions.

The Euro Crisis and Its Aftermath

Jean Pisani-Ferry

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Introduction PART 1: BARE-BONES UTOPIA 1. The day the euro ceased to be boring 2. The last utopia of the century 3. The walls of Frankfurt 4. Only one bed for two dreams 5. The orphan currency PART 2: CRISES FORETOLD, UNEXPECTED CRISES 6. Germany's long penance 7. The perfect culprit 8. The golden decade 9. The misfits 10. The dogs that did not bark PART 3: AGONIES OF CHOICE 11. To help or not to help 12. Let the banks pay? 13. A lender of last resort? 14. Redemption through austerity? 15. Let's break it up? PART 4: THE REPAIR AGENDA 16. Fixing the economy 17. Sharing financial risk 18. A real or a mock budget? 19. A European safe asset 20. Governance reform Conclusions Glossary Euro crisis timeline Selected references

The Euro Crisis and Its Aftermath

Jean Pisani-Ferry

Author Information

Jean Pisani-Ferry is Professor of Economics and Public Management at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, and Commissionar-General for Strategy for the Prime Minister of France. Until May 2013 he was the director of Bruegel, the Brussels-based economic think tank he contributed to founding in 2005.

The Euro Crisis and Its Aftermath

Jean Pisani-Ferry

Reviews and Awards

"Careful and persuasive." - John Peet, The Economist

"It is succinct and clear enough to serve as the best available guide to the euro mess for non-European, non-economists." - The Wall Street Journal's 'Washington Wire'

"This is a brilliant book about the euro. It suprises with its refreshing mixing of history, politics, and economics." - Paul de Grauwe, London School of Economics and Political Science

"An excellent, well-balanced, and beautifully written book on the euro-crisis, its causes, its on-going developments, and its possible cures. Required reading." - Charles Goodhart, Professor Emeritus, London School of Economics and Political Science

"A highly readable and clearheaded account of not just what went wrong, but also what must be done to save the European project." - Dani Rodrik, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton

"No global financial issue is more pressing than the future of the EMU. If you are going to read only one book about it, read this one. Jean Pisani-Ferry is wise nad balanced while being simultaneously sharp and incisive. This is must-reading for anyone who cares about Europe's future." - Larry Summers, former Secretary of the U. S. Treasury

"I bet this book will be the source to go to on the Euro crisis... If policy nmakers have the wisdom, they will follow Pisani-Ferry's advice, and Europe will heal." - Olivier Blanchard, Director of Research, International Monetary Fund

The Euro Crisis and Its Aftermath

Jean Pisani-Ferry

From Our Blog

By Jean Pisani-Ferry At the end of May, 400 million EU citizens will be called to participate in the second-largest direct election in the world (the first being held in India). Since they last went to the polls to elect their parliament, in 2009, Europe has gone through an acute crisis that precipitated several countries deeper into recession than any peacetime shock they had suffered for a century.